Chapter 1509: Chapter 1509

__In the Cestine palace__ ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝘯𝘦𝘵

Zhao Li Xin’s fingers danced across the keyboard, the cold light of the monitor painting his face in pale blue. On the screen, streams of code cascaded like an unfamiliar language he had long since mastered. With a final keystroke, the security grid of the Bellevue Hotel unfolded before him, every corridor, every elevator, every flicker of motion now his to command.

The fact that he, a man born in an age of ink scrolls and sword steel, could now breach modern defenses would have been laughable if it weren’t true. Yet here he sat, utterly at ease, hacking into a digital fortress as if he had been born for it.

Lory only taught him the basics, but it was Zhao Li Xin’s own relentless curiosity that carried him forward. He devoured books, scoured the web, and tested his newfound skills with the same patience and precision that once made him an unmatched cultivator.

What others took months to grasp, he absorbed in days. Even Lory, proud of her own intellect, found herself exasperated. It wasn’t fair how quickly he adapted, how effortlessly ancient wisdom and modern logic blended in his hands.

Now, sitting with a cup of wine in hand, Zhao Li Xin observed the live camera feeds, hallways, elevators, and empty lobbies, all at his fingertips.

"What an extraordinary tool," he murmured, almost to himself.

This Net, as people called it, was like a boundless library of human knowledge. Everything one could seek, arts, sciences, languages, physics, and math lay within reach, freely given.

If he had known of this world sooner, he thought with faint amusement, he would never have needed Hugo to find him teachers. The world itself was his master now. And as always, Zhao Li Xin was an exceptional student.

Zhao Li Xin leaned back in his chair, eyes half-lidded as the flickering light from the monitor painted faint shadows across his face. The hum of electronics filled the quiet room, a sound he had grown oddly fond of.

He exhaled softly, almost in disbelief.

"So convenient," he murmured. "This world has everything within reach."

Lory once told him that the Dark Age War had crippled technological progress in her world, and if not because of that, the progress of technology might have soared far beyond its current limits.

The idea fascinated him, a glimpse into what could have been, a world where brilliance was never chained by war.

Zhao Li Xin often marveled at the intelligence of people in this world and their sheer depth of imagination. How are they able to merge technology and magic into something new, something greater than anything his world had ever conceived?

Even this simple device before him, a laptop, was a miracle in its own right. Who, in his time, could have imagined such a creation? A box of metal and light that could hold more knowledge than an empire’s grandest library, linking people across oceans and continents. What fascinated him even more was that this marvel wasn’t reserved for kings or the wealthy, but belonged to everyone.

Sometimes, he imagined showing it to his old subordinates—Jin Hao, Wu San Bo. He could almost see their faces: Jin Hao’s eyes alight with feverish curiosity, Wu San Bo speechless for once in his life. They would have been awestruck... perhaps even inspired.

"Li Xin!" Lory’s voice floated from the front door.

He lifted his head and glanced toward the glass door. Then, from the door, Lory appeared, her steps slow, shoulders heavy with fatigue. The faint weariness in her eyes told him she’d spent the entire day assisting her brother, the King, buried in endless stacks of reports.

Though she often complained about work, swearing she wanted nothing to do with royal duties, she still went to her brother’s study every morning. Zhao Li Xin could only smile at that.

He knew her too well, that beneath her protests, Lory was softhearted and dearly cared for her brother. Therefore, no matter how much she grumbled, she always did what needed to be done.

She kicked off her heels with a sigh of relief, trading them for her house slippers before padding toward him. "What are you looking at?" she teased, dropping into the armchair beside him. With a lazy motion, she leaned into his shoulder, her hair brushing against his sleeve.

"Just keeping track of that woman," Zhao Li Xin said, looping an arm around her waist. "Wanted to see where she went."

"So, you are watching another woman," Lory said, feigning a pout.

He chuckled, low and amused. "It’s not like that. My assistant said she invited us to dinner to apologize for her rudeness."

Lory blinked, pointing at herself in mock surprise. "To me too?"

"Yes," he replied simply, eyes still on the screen. "But I haven’t answered yet. I wait for your opinion."

Lory’s brow furrowed as she thought aloud. "Someone like her would never apologize—maybe to you, to get your attention, of course, but to me? No-way"

Lory’s index finger tapped her chin, "So, what’s the catch?" She tapped her chin, tilting her head thoughtfully. "Could it be Salvo’s doing? Maybe he told her to apologize. After all, Salvo still hasn’t given up on trying to recruit you."

"No," he said with a faint smirk. "A prideful man like him would never let his subordinates bow to us—that would bruise his precious ego. Someone like Salvo wouldn’t lower his head to get what he wants, not even if he’s desperate. He’d rather slither around and use underhanded tricks to get his way."

Lory tilted her head, eyes narrowing as if studying a puzzle. Then her lips curved in amusement. "Oh, so this invitation might be part of some devious scheme against us?" she said, feigning a gasp.

It’s very likely so, my dear wife." Zhao Li Xin’s chuckle was smooth and unhurried; there was not even a slight of anxiety flickering in his beautiful onyx eyes.

Lory’s gaze darted toward him, incredulity flickering across her face. "But, do you think they’d actually dare make a move here? In Harland?" Her tone carried both disbelief and curiosity as she narrowed her eyes.

"Maybe they think the risk is worth the price," Zhao Li Xin replied, his voice calm, almost thoughtful.

Lory blinked, then huffed out a laugh. "The price? Is it us?" Lory widened her eyes, then spoke sarcastically, "Should I be flatter?"

A slow, roguish smile spread across Zhao Li Xin’s lips, the kind of smile that could melt frost and raise suspicion all at once. "Well, I always find you worth risking for," his voice laced with honey, then his face turned serious.

"But, whatever they schemed about, they should know they only have one chance; therefore, they would go all out."

Her eyes glint dangerously, like a hunter about to hunt. "I wonder what motivated her to do this risky stunt."

His smile turned cunning, his eyes glinting with that familiar, dangerous playfulness. "Well, we should ask her, then."

A mischievous smirk curved Lory’s lips. "So, we’re accepting her invitation, then?"

"It would be rude not to," Zhao Li Xin replied easily, leaning back in his seat with effortless grace. "Besides... you’ve been looking bored lately. All that desk work must be draining you."

Lory’s grin widened, mischief and excitement sparking in her eyes. "Then it’s settled. You talk to your assistant—I’ll pick the place."

She bent down and pressed a quick kiss to his forehead before springing up from the armchair, her steps light with barely contained enthusiasm. As she headed for the door, her eyes gleamed with pure anticipation, the thrill of impending chaos dancing in her smile.

finally—finally—something interesting was about to happen. She only hoped they wouldn’t disappoint her.

Lory snatched up her phone and dialed a number, pressing it to her ear. The moment the call connected, her face lit up with barely contained excitement.

"Hey, Fargy! I need you to prepare something for me—" her voice bubbled with glee, "yeah, I’m going on a hunt with Li Xin." She giggled, the sound bright and laced with excitement.

________________________________________

Clift and Samuel spent the next few days buried under piles of data, tracing every fragment of information Igor had given them. What began as a routine follow-up slowly twisted into something far darker. The patterns, at first, were subtle, minor discrepancies in reports, strange overlaps in company ledgers, but soon, the picture sharpened into a grotesque truth.

There was a human trafficking route hidden beneath the guise of corporate expansion. A web of exploitation stretching across continents, tied to the Orsus tech company.

A company so vast and polished it seemed untouchable. Orsus, which had long collaborated with Aeon and was owned by Amanda Haynes, who is Elena Reynold’s sister, and also Ethan Hamilton’s ex-girlfriend.

"Everything just circles back," Clift muttered, exhaling heavily as the realization sank in.

Samuel leaned over his shoulder, eyes flicking across the laptop screen before a sardonic smirk tugged at his lips. "Now it makes sense how Orsus climbed its way into the top twenty tech giants. Rivalling Elecant Group, no less."

"They used the company to recruit people from small villages and poor countries," Clift said quietly, his tone edged with restrained anger. "They promised housing, work permits, and made it all sound legitimate. But that also means they had complete control over these people."

He leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing as he stared at the scattered documents on his desk. On paper, Orsus appeared immaculate, spotless finances, verified contracts, flawless documentation. However, the deeper he delved into the data his subordinates had collected, the uglier it became. Recruitment lists didn’t match workforce records.

Payrolls carried names that didn’t exist in housing logs. Dozens of foreign workers had entered the country, but less than half were ever officially registered.

Samuel’s gaze darkened. "You think they used these people to mine Zerenium?"

"Yeah," Clift said grimly. "Mining Zerenium isn’t just costly, it’s also very dangerous. The permits, safety guarantees, insurance for the worker, specialized equipment, it all could cost hundreds of millions of rohm just in a month. Not to mention, accidents happen often in that kind of work, and if those casualties were Luxemborough citizens, it would create chaos. But if they use workers from poor countries—people who can’t speak the language, who don’t have any knowledge about the rules of the country, people who don’t know where to go when they fall into a bad situation..."

"They’d be easier to control. Easier to silence," Samuel finished, his expression hardening.

The air between them grew dense, almost suffocating, thick with the weight of the truth they had just uncovered. The soft hum of the computer screens was the only sound that dared to intrude.

Samuel raked a hand through his hair, the gesture sharp with pent-up frustration. "And it’s all connected to that invention," he muttered, his voice low, dark. "The one that’ll drag humanity straight into despair."

Clift’s eyes flicked toward him, steady and resolved. "Then we have to move. Now."

Samuel exhaled slowly, tension riding his every word. "We’ll need backup and a lot of it. I’m certain that place will be crawling with Dragxtarn."

Before Clift could respond, his phone began to buzz. The caller ID flashed on the screen, and his expression shifted, first in surprise, then in quiet satisfaction.

He answered swiftly. "Hey, you finished your job already—what? Uh-huh." A slow, knowing smile spread across his face. "Right on time, buddy."

The call ended with a soft click. Samuel eyed him, suspicion written all over his face. "Who was that?"

Clift’s grin turned sly, a glint of mischief sparking in his eyes. "A backup."